SA stay cool to take series lead

As Shahid Afridi flayed the South African attack, memories of their last two, perhaps even three ODIs at the Wanderers came flooding back.

South Africa have not won at the Bullring since February 2008, losing to Australia, India and Sri Lanka in the process. The last two were close defeats in matches which underlined South Africa's problems with pressure. Against India, South Africa were bowled out for 189, chasing 191 and against Sri Lanka, they could not defend 312 despite having them eight down.

Every time Afridi breached the boundary, he provided another flashback to those fixtures. It was possible that, once again, South Africa would be beaten even though they should have been doing the beating.

What made this time different, according to AB de Villiers, is that South Africa did not panic. "I always felt we were in the game," he said. "Shahid Afridi played really well but I felt like we were in control I always felt our bowlers always had the skill to get him out."

He was not wrong because soon after Ryan McLaren's almost yorker-length low full toss had Afridi driving and playing on. Had McLaren not overstepped, Afridi would have been out for 73.

That ended up being just 15 runs short of what he eventually scored, but the shot Afridi followed that escape with would have sent alarm bells off in any captain's mind. De Villiers did his best to hit the snooze button after Afridi sent a ball over the Golf Course End stand.

"There was a bit of a breeze coming in and I when I looked at the shot I just didn't how he hit the ball that far," de Villiers admitted. "I forced myself to think, 'he is playing a great knock, there is no reason to get emotional, he is playing out of skin here. It's not as though we are bowling badly, but this guy is playing an amazing knock'. We've seen it all over the world, one guy can come in and take the game away, there is nothing you can do about that."

Eventually Lonwabo Tsotsobe managed to do something. Another full toss tempted Afridi but he holed out to long-off. South Africa still had to toil to remove the tail and a lack of yorkers made the job harder.

De Villiers explained it was not the plan to aim the toes, even though Allan Donald had earlier said it was. "That wasn't the plan. We wanted to go length and try and nick him off," he said of their plans to Afridi. "The rest of the time the bowlers hit their lengths well and bowled bouncers well, especially the slower ball bouncer."

That is exactly the delivery Donald said anyone could come up with and although change of pace got South Africa the first five wickets, they still needed something more potent at the end. For the three days between this match and the next one, that will be one of the things they will work on as they look to wrap up the series and string two consecutive wins together.

De Villiers believed the batsmen showed the right approach to becoming more consistent. In saying that, he was talking mostly about himself and Hashim Amla, who shared a world-record third wicket stand of 238. "In our body language, we showed that we are here to play," de Villiers said. "When we got a gut feel when a bowler is feeling a bit weak, we sensed it was time to take them on. That happened a few times."

While South Africa feel they have made a statement of intent, so do Pakistan. Despite defeat, they showed their ability and for Misbah, that was good enough. "Everybody believed that Pakistan can't play well while they are chasing, especially such a huge total. Today we showed that we can do that," he said. "It's all about the mind, you need to be positive."

Afridi also announced himself and both captains hope that is a sign of things to come in the remaining two matches. "He was also under tremendous pressure but we know he can be really dangerous at No. 7," Misbah said. "He has really good confidence and he will be good for us in the next matches."

De Villiers said it was "good to see Afridi back" but joked that he wouldn't like him to keep being back as the series heads into its decisive week.

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Wellington washout keeps series square

New Zealand 254 (McCullum 69, Broad 6-51) and 162 for 2 (Williamson 55*) drew with England 465 (Trott 121, Compton 100, Prior 82)
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details

Auckland will decide the Test series after the final day at the Basin Reserve was abandoned without a ball bowled. The final decision, which had looked likely from early morning as steady rain fell, came shortly after 2pm.

The tail-end of Cyclone Sandra had arrived on cue during the fourth day and the weather was worse on the final morning, with low cloud and rain meaning that players from both teams returned to their hotels when it was clear there would be no action before lunch. Although the skies brightened around midday, the outfield had taken a lot of water and there was never really a big effort to clear the area.

The umpires, Asad Rauf and Rod Tucker, had a couple of inspections during the afternoon and some of the players prodded around on the outfield without anyone looked particularly keen to get out there. Further rain then made the decision easy.

In a flip of the situation in Dunedin, this time England will be frustrated and New Zealand relieved. Alastair Cook had enforced the follow-on on the third evening but his bowlers only managed two wickets in the second innings on a docile surface. Even without the assistance of the weather, the home side could have saved the match - their top-order put in a stubborn display in their second innings, led by Kane Williamson's unbeaten half-century.

England's bowlers were not at their best second time around, having worked hard to remove New Zealand for 254, and the fast men were feeling the effects of back-to-back innings in the field. Monty Panesar, while steady, did not provide the wicket-taking threat that will have been hoped for although did create some difficulties out of the rough.

Both teams will now travel north with an eager eye in the pitch, a drop-in, that will be prepared at Eden Park. Bowlers from both sides have been forced to labour during lengthy stints in the field and it is not inconceivable that some fresh legs will be needed for the final match.

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Watson returns to India tour

Shane Watson is to return to India in time for the fourth Test after spending a week in Australia around the birth of his first son, Will.

Watson had arrived in Sydney on Tuesday, his departure from Chandigarh also coinciding with him being one of four players stood down from the Australia team for this week's third Test due to their failure to complete a task set by the coach Mickey Arthur.

When he left India, Watson said he would use his time at home to weigh up his cricket future, which given his new family commitments was taken as a suggestion that long Test tours might no longer be on his radar.

However, Clarke and Watson spoke on the phone after Watson landed in Sydney and Clarke said at the time the best-case scenario for Australia was that Watson could still return to India in time for the final Test in Delhi, which starts on Friday next week.

As Clarke now struggles with back trouble and Australia face the possibility of going 3-0 down in the series in Mohali, Watson's return for the final Test is welcome. He may yet lead the team.

More to come...

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Obuya, Otieno lead Kenya to 21-run win

Kenya 139 for 7 (Aga 31, Patel 2-23) beat Canada 118 (Gunasekera 38, Obuya 3-17, Otieno 3-18) by 21 runs
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details

Some late hitting from Ragheb Aga and three wickets each from Collins Obuya and Elijah Oteino helped Kenya win the second T20 against Canada in Dubai and share the series 1-1. Having scored 139 after electing to bat, Kenya dismissed Canada for 118 with seven balls to spare.

The top five Kenya batsmen reached double-figures but couldn't score more than 20 as they lost wickets regularly and were 76 for 5, primarily due to two wickets from left-arm spinner Hiral Patel. Rakep Patel and Aga then put on 57 off 37 for the sixth wicket which helped them reach 139.

After Canada lost Rizwan Cheema in the second over, Hiral and Ruvindu Gunasekera kept them in the hunt, scoring 45 together. But Obuya and Otieno took six of the remaining nine wickets as Canada lost their last seven for 35 runs. Only one other batsman, apart from Hiral and Gunasekera, Usman Limbada reached double figures with a 12-ball 21 but Canada fell short by 21 runs.

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'Lots of fun' getting to 99 - Starc

Mitchell Starc has described his innings of 99 as "lots of fun", despite the agony of falling one run short of a Test century. Starc came within touching distance of becoming the first Australian in more than 65 years to score a Test hundred batting from No.9 or below, but instead he edged behind off Ishant Sharma.

Starc smiled to himself as he walked off the field, disappointed at the missed opportunity but pleased at the fact that he was able to contribute so much to Australia's batting effort. Starc said he was nervous once triple-figures came within sight and hoped it wouldn't be his only chance to register a Test century.

"I was just enjoying it up until I got out," Starc said. "At the start of the day I was just hanging around for hopefully Steve Smith to get a ton. Unfortunately he didn't get there and that was just a lot of fun to play the way I liked to (after Smith's dismissal) and play my shots. To fall one short is disappointing and hopefully I can get another chance one day. I felt a bit nervous and it probably felt a bit harder ... when you get to 99. It's something I can learn from and I'm still happy I got that far"

After the departure of Smith for 92, Starc became the architect of Australia's lower-order run scoring and added 51 in a ninth-wicket partnership with Nathan Lyon. He was helped by the defensive captaincy of MS Dhoni, who at times pushed as many as six men back onto the boundary to gift Starc singles - although sometimes he pinched twos - and get Lyon on strike.

Lyon, who had batted for 85 minutes in the second innings in Chennai, was untroubled by the plan and it was only when Starc reached 99 that Dhoni put pressure on him by bringing the field in. That led to a series of plays and misses against Ishant as Starc tried to force the ball through the infield and in the end he edged low to the left of Dhoni.

"It doesn't happen too often," Starc said of the field being back for a lower-order batsman like himself. "The way he [Dhoni] captains is probably pretty reactive so if I play my shots he's going to push them back. I just enjoyed the moment being out there with the bat."

Starc was willing to go over the top earlier in his innings, including one especially handsome chip over the head of the bowler Ishant for four. He didn't thrash the ball like he did during his 68 not out from 43 balls against South Africa in Perth, but rather showed a wide range of more conventional strokes that suggest he will be an especially useful lower-order player for Australia in future.

"I've got a couple [of hundreds] in club cricket games, but it's a bit different playing Test cricket. Hopefully I get a chance to get back there one day," Starc said. "I enjoy batting, growing up as a kid I was a wicketkeeper, so I'd like to think I can hold a stick and be able to score a few runs if need be. All the bowlers work hard on our batting, we put a bit of emphasis on our tail scoring runs and we did that in this innings."

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'I didn't feel I rushed things' - Dhawan

As he put together his whirlwind debut century, Shikhar Dhawan had it in the back of his head that he could have been run out without facing a ball.

As Mitchell Starc ran in to open the bowling in the Indian innings, the ball slipped out of his hand and fell onto the stumps at the non-striker's end. Dhawan, at that time, was a foot outside the crease.

It is debatable if he had been given out had Australia appealed. The umpires would have had to consider an important part of the manakading playing condition, which says, "The bowler is permitted, before releasing the ball and provided he has not completed his usual delivery swing, to attempt to run out the non-striker." Since the ball had slipped out of his hand unintentionally, they could have concluded "an attempt had not been made".*

However, Dhawan thought he was gone. He found himself laughing, while the Australia captain Michael Clark made signs to the umpires to go up to the TV umpire in jest, and the incident passed without rancour.

Dhawan, who was batting on 185 at stumps on day three, said after play: "It was lunch after that over. I was laughing in the dressing room, that history could have been created, that without facing a ball I would have been out and back in the dressing room."

He returned after the break and, in the matter of a single session, rewrote history. He produced one of the most breathtaking of debut centuries in recent times: it was the fastest ever by a Test debutant (85 balls) and the highest score on debut for India, surpassing Gundappa Viswanath's 137 in Kanpur against Australia in 1969.

He was given his Test cap by Sachin Tendulkar before the match and Dhawan said Tendulkar's words to him had been simple: "He told me that we all have known you as a gutsy player, and you've been performing well on the domestic circuit. We'd like to see your gutsy nature and shots over here."

And so he did. Dhawan's strike rate so far in this Test innings has been just over 110, the numbers closer to 50-overs and T20 cricket. But Dhawan said he was in no hurry to score at a particular rate, nor did it form part of any larger team strategy. "I wasn't really playing in a hurry. The fours were coming on their own after the ball hit the bat. But I guess I was in good flow today. I felt my shot selection was good and I played according to how I'd assessed the wicket. I didn't feel that I rushed things. There was no strategy, I was hitting the ball well, I was middling the ball very nicely and the runs came on their own. My only focus was that I'd play the ball on merit."

He admitted to being nervous, remembering his ODI debut against Australia on October 20, 2010, where he was bowled by Clink McKay off the second ball he faced. "This time I was nervous, that it was again Australia on my Test debut, because I'd scored zero then. But everything went well and I was really happy that I grabbed this opportunity and scored a century... It was a very satisfying feeling."

After his disastrous ODI debut, captain MS Dhoni and Suresh Raina had offered Dhawan solace, which had stayed in his mind. "They told me that the players who've got out on zero for India on debut, they went really big."Dhawan last played for India in June 2011, and was dropped after five ODI appearances. "I worked really hard and changed myself, and became a more mature player. I was waiting for a chance. I did very well on the domestic circuit, and was waiting for a chance to play in international cricket. I guess then that went my way."

Apart from Test and ODI debuts against the Australians, Dhawan's other Australian connection is personal. His wife, Aesha Mukherjee, a British-Asian, currently lives in Melbourne with her two daughters. After returning to the dressing room, Dhawan said: "I called my wife first. I knew she'd been praying for me, so it was an emotional moment for my wife. It's a great moment for me and my family."

Dhawan's nickname amongst his peers is Jaat-jee, which comes from his Jaat heritage. The Jaats are a rural north Indian community, concentrated in Haryana and portions of western Uttar Pradesh, surrounding Delhi. Dhawan's distinctive and carefully maintained moustache owes some allegiance to that heritage. As he walked off the field at tea and then at stumps, he twirled his moustache upwards, in a somewhat old-fashioned but instantly-recognisable gesture of bragging-rights ownership. On Saturday, he couldn¹t be denied.

*07.20pm GMT, March 16: The article has been updated after reviewing the laws of the game.

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Williamson and Taylor lift NZ

Tea New Zealand 254 and 153 for 2 (Williamson 51*, Taylor 36*) trail England 465 by 58 runs
Live scorecard and ball-by-ball details

Cyclone Sandra wiped out the afternoon session at Basin Reserve to undermine England's attempts to force a victory in the second Test. Even before the rain made its long-heralded arrival over lunch, the going was tough for England as New Zealand batted resiliently on a surface showing little sign of deterioration to whittle down a first-innings deficit of 211 to 58.

Chief whittler was Kane Williamson, a circumspect half-century secured shortly by the interval when he pulled Joe Root securely through square leg - 51 not out from 158 balls. If Williamson was a boy scout, his whittling would be of such a high standard it would be enough to make him patrol leader, although not necessarily make him the chief attraction at the village show.

He played diligently and with sound technique, particularly against the quick bowlers, and if he was unsettled at times by Monty Panesar's left-arm spin, Panesar never managed to get on top of him for long. He looks mature beyond his 22 years and looks set to serve New Zealand with distinction for many years.

Williamson's third-wicket stand with Ross Taylor was worth 72 by lunch, with Taylor displaying flashes of attacking intent. It was clear for England that there would be no easy pickings against a side which has played with resolve throughout the series. At times Panesar seemed at odds with himself, or the field he had to bowl to, or the weather. Dr Panesar, as he jokes he wishes to be known these days since taking some business exams earlier in the tour, needed a spot of self-diagnosis.

England's only wicket in the session was that of Peter Fulton, whose obdurate innings ended with a push away from his body against James Anderson and a straightforward wicketkeeper's catch for Matt Prior.

It was touch and go whether Anderson had overstepped, but after several replays the third umpire, Paul Reiffel, ruled in the bowler's favour. He had stayed behind the line by little more than a bit of stray ankle strapping.

Anderson was variously troubled by an ankle battered by footholds that were entirely to his taste and a back made stiff by the Wellington breeze. If he came back to Basin Reserve on a really windy day, he would get an inclination about what it would feel like to be 90 years of age. Nobody would have predicted with certainty that he would get through the day unscathed but he reached lunch in reasonable order.

The aches and strains of a fast bowler's lot was enough to put him in one of his complex moods, revealed by a put-upon smile that forever seems likely to be his last. He was never more put upon than when Kevin Pietersen misfielded badly at mid-on to allow Taylor, who was on a pair, to get a single off the mark, the pressure released in an instant.

An unbroken morning session had seemed unlikely before play began. Rain was forecast, imminent rain, and the groundstaff were not overly enthusiastic about taking the covers off. But Cyclone Sandra was a playful adversary and, although rumoured to be in the vicinity, delivered nothing more than a sprinkle or two in the first few overs before taking her sport elsewhere until more extensive rain arrived at the interval. Wellington, with little more than a fortnight's water left after one of its driest summers on record, will be grateful for that.

New Zealand began 134 runs in arrears with eight wickets remaining. The pitch was still sound, the weather unsettled. England needed the ball to turn for Panesar - and not merely out of the rough. He came into the attack after eight overs and his first two deliveries did just that, bringing hope that Panesar could progress from a good containing job to potential matchwinner. He threatened sporadically all morning, the tail of his patka catching the wind like a built-in weather vane, but no wickets were forthcoming. He must have felt he was due a change of fortune.

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Cowan keen on just batting long

There are plenty of professional cricketers who live with their heads in the sand. Most followers of the game would argue that the well-rounded Ed Cowan is not one of them. But Cowan has forced such a mindset upon himself since becoming a Test cricketer, trying his best to ignore criticism from past players and journalists, avoiding Twitter and the often mindless condemnation that it facilitates between player and spectator. It is his self-imposed head-in-the-sand approach.

Cowan's critics have been many and varied. Ian Chappell has regularly argued for Shane Watson and David Warner to be reunited as Australia's opening pair, and Shane Warne also left Cowan out of the preferred Ashes XI he published this week. After scoring a gritty 86 from 238 deliveries against India in Mohali, a strong effort considering Australia's batting struggles in this series, Cowan was asked if he could see himself changing the mind of people like Chappell.

"I'm going to have to score a hell of a lot of runs before that happens," Cowan said. "One of the things with Test cricket is you work out pretty quickly that everyone has got an opinion, everyone is entitled to an opinion. Often it's not the same opinion as what you have. I've taken a bit of a head-in-the-sand approach in relation to guys when they pick a team and you're not in it. So be it. I've got the opportunity now and it's important for the team now that I keep playing more innings like today.

"I'm the first to put my hand up and say I haven't been good enough in terms of making sure those 50, 60-ball innings become 180, 200-ball innings. That's one area where I can really kick on and if I can turn a few more of those starts into long innings then I don't really mind what Ian Chappell has to say. But I doubt that I'll ever see myself in his team."

After Cowan scored his first Test century against South Africa at the Gabba, Chappell said he was impressed by the attacking mindset Cowan had shown at times during the innings. In India, Cowan has discovered that his best approach is to occupy time and force India's bowlers to work out other ways to get him out, and by surviving for so long in the first innings in Mohali he ensured the rest of the batsmen had something to work with.

That Australia finished the second day in another shaky position at 273 for 7 was not the fault of Cowan. He and David Warner provided Australia with a very solid platform, a 139-run opening partnership that was their second-highest in Tests. Their partnership average is now 48.07, which by Australian standards is above par for an opening pair. By comparison, David Boon and Geoff Marsh averaged 46.77, Bill Lawry and Keith Stackpole averaged 44.89 and Matthew Hayden and Justin Langer aren't that far ahead at 51.88.

Personally, Cowan still wants to see his big innings' getting even bigger. He still has only one century, but his role in Australia's team of stroke-players is that of anchor. There were plenty of jokes about Cowan's so-called homework task for the coach Mickey Arthur during the week - it would win the Nobel Peace Prize, one theory went - but the truth is his personal goals were pretty simple.

"What I said to Mickey was I want to be accountable to bat a long period of time and I put a figure on that which is between me and Mickey," Cowan said. "My personal accountability is to bat a long time. I didn't bat for as long as I would have liked but I felt I did fairly well today.

"For me, today wasn't about runs, it was about time and soaking up balls and soaking up pressure. It felt like that's what the team needed in this particular game considering what has happened the last two. At no stage did I think, I'm getting close to a hundred. I wasn't even looking at the scoreboard, I was looking at the clock on the other side of the ground saying 'c'mon mate, just get to drinks or change of bowler, get through the next break'.

"It didn't bother me that I didn't score a hundred, I was happy that I faced 238 balls. Deep down, I would have loved it to be 350 balls and if I faced that many balls I would have been a hundred. But that wasn't the focus for me. The word contentment is pretty apt in that circumstance. Up against the wall in terms of the way the series has gone, I was happy I could contribute."

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Pune stadium to remain Warriors' host

Pune Warriors' IPL 2013 home matches will be held at the stadium at Gahunje on the outskirts of the city it has been confirmed, despite the ongoing dispute between the Sahara Group - which owns the Warriors franchise - and the Maharashtra Cricket Association (MCA) over the title rights of the stadium. The BCCI working committee was informed at a meeting in Mumbai on Friday that the Warriors' owners and the MCA have agreed to put their legal tussle on hold for the duration of the IPL's sixth edition, to be played from April 3 to May 26.

"Both the parties have agreed to move a joint application to the court saying the blacked out name [of the stadium] be reinstated only from the first till the last day of the IPL. If the dispute isn't resolved in that window, status quo will be reinstated," a BCCI insider said. "So the stadium is set to be recognised as the Subrata Roy Sahara Stadium during the IPL".

In January, the MCA had terminated its agreement with the Sahara Group regarding the title rights of the stadium for alleged non-payment. Once the MCA covered the name of the stadium with a black cloth, Sahara moved the Bombay High Court alleging unlawful breach of agreement. Since then, there was uncertainty over where Warriors would play their home games.

IPL chairman Rajiv Shukla initiated the truce last week, by getting Abhijit Sarkar, director of Sahara Adventure Sports Ltd, and Ajay Shirke, president of the MCA, to discuss the issue. That meeting culminated in both the parties agreeing to commit to a workable arrangement two days ago.

The BCCI working committee was also informed that the dispute between the Hyderabad Cricket Association and Visaka Group over in-stadia advertisements at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium had been "amicably" resolved. "Everyone is glad that all the riddles regarding IPL venues are over. Now we are looking forward to the tournament to get underway with a glittering opening ceremony," the BCCI insider said.

At the meeting, the working committee also discussed how the notice from the income tax department regarding an outstanding bill of Rs 2,300 crore (approx USD433m) should be dealt with. Treasurer Ajay Shirke, who was handed the responsibility of coming up with suggestions during the last working committee meeting, on February 4 in Chennai, presented "three options" to the working committee. "It was left to the president [N Srinivasan] and the secretary [Sanjay Jagdale] to finalise the future course of action," the insider said.

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Steyn available for English T20

Dale Steyn, the South Africa fast bowler who tops the world Test rankings, is available to play Twenty20 cricket this summer after the end of the Champions Trophy.

Warwickshire were offered first refusal for Steyn, who enjoyed a successful stint at Edgbaston in 2007, but they have chosen not to go ahead, leaving the way open for other counties to consider the option.

At a time when England's FLt20 tournament is under pressure to match the appeal of more hyped tournaments elsewhere, and when an ECB committee is considering how a relaunched tournament next season can succeed, the thought of Steyn not being snapped up is hard to imagine.

But Steyn's lofty salary expectations were a factor for Warwickshire and he could be deemed unaffordable by the few other counties who have yet to sign the maximum number of two overseas players for the competition.

Finances are tight at Edgbaston. The club recently negotiated a freeze in their repayment plan with the council and saw a naming-rights deal - also with Birmingham City Council - collapse at the last moment.

Warwickshire also have a policy of fielding just one overseas player in the T20. The club have already committed themselves to New Zealand's offspinner Jeetan Patel for the entire season and contended that signing Steyn for a short period could disrupt the dressing room and reduce the opportunities for homegrown players.

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